The Engineering Genius Behind This Freeze-Proof Arctic Drone

The wide-open spaces of the Arctic are a dream for drone science. A maneuverable eye in the sky has made unmanned aircraft a go-to method for counting sea lion populations, mapping ice cover, and perhaps one day for search-and-rescue operations off Alaska’s coast.

As a result, Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation created the weather-hardened ArcticShark, a drone with a 22-foot wingspan, a max speed of 75 mph that can climb to 15,000 feet and can fly while weighing in at 625 pounds. To top it off, the ArcticShark also delivers a hefty four kilowatts of power to its onboard scientific weather instruments—all at a price that was cheaper than anticipated.